


You're Not Dead, Frank Castle

by richell3roush



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brief mention of blood and gore, F/M, Frank bleeds a lot, Frank has feelings, Frank loves to sleep, Frank protecting Karen, Frank shoots some people, Karen Page - Freeform, Karen doesn't really need it, Karen is a BAMF, Karen is reckless, Karen likes to make fun of Frank, One of them gets stabbed, Sleeping is Frank's passion, The Punisher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-28 23:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6349372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/richell3roush/pseuds/richell3roush
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank still keeps an eye on Karen Page, but only because she's reckless and can't keep her ass out of danger. Frank doesn't intervene much, but one night Karen is being particularly reckless and Frank has no choice but to kill those sons of bitches right in front of her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not Dead, Not to Me

       Frank told himself he didn’t want to get involved, because in all honesty, Karen could take care of herself. So of course he was trying to keep his distance, only acting when strictly necessary, and by God, tonight it was very necessary. He knew that Karen was getting into the wrong crowds and maybe going a little too far with her investigating, but he wasn’t surprised. Frank knew she would get herself into one hell of a mess when she started investigating The Westies, he had been keeping tabs on them recently, but they kept pretty well to the shadows, never causing too much trouble. He let them be for the time being, as they were pretty oblivious to Karen’s prodding, but tonight she was getting risky.

      She already stuck out like a sore thumb in her pencil skirt and her loud heels, but to make matters worse, she had brought her shiny camera and she was taking pictures of the building, which was already bad, but of course she had to turn the flash on after the third picture. Frank cursed under his breath as a light went on in the back of the building. Frank hauled himself out of his crouching position, wincing as he strained his bruised ribs. He made his way to the next roof top to get a better view, never letting Karen out of his line of sight for more than a few minutes, but of course she didn’t seem to care that she was putting her damn life on the line because she kept on taking those damn photos. He was half tempted to just shout at her and tell her to knock it off before someone came outside asking questions with their fists, but before he could open his mouth the door to her left swung open and three guys in ratty clothes stepped out and surrounded her. His first instinct was to pull out his largest gun and blow them all away but she was already ahead of him on that, because once again she pulled out that .380 pistol and points it at the biggest guys head. She’s shouting now so he can hear her loud and clear “Back the fuck up and put your gun down! I will use this if I have to! Just go back inside and i’ll be on my merry way” Frank chuckled at her confidence but he still pulled out a .338 Lapua Magnum and aimed it. He was still hesitant to pull the trigger, because she was holding her ground pretty well and in all honesty he wanted to see how this would play out.

       It all went to shit way too fast, he was caught up in how assertive she looked and how dangerous he could tell she felt. He didn’t even notice that one of the low life scumbags had pulled a knife until it was plunged into her side. He quickly put the other two down with one headshot each, but the one with the knife he shot in the side. He quickly made it down the stairs and across the street to where Karen was laying still in shock. He ran to Karen’s side and inspected the wound, the guy was a rookie obviously because the wound wasn't deep and he left the knife in. He silently thanked the lord that this was an easy wound to care for and he turned around to face the assailant, he got real close, pointing a gun at his throat, whispering “You think it's okay to stab ladies in the dark? You think you’re going to get away with that?” The man let out a weak whimper and Frank pulled the trigger. After quickly disposing of the bodies, letting the son of a bitch who stabbed her bleed out in the back of an alley he ran back to Karen, picking her up as gently as possible and carrying her back to her car. She whines as he sets her down in the back seat and he can’t help it when he reaches out to stroke his hand down her face shushing her and whispering that everything’s alright and he’s got her. Finally she settles down enough for him to go to the front seat and start the car. He makes it back to her apartment as fast as he can in New York traffic, she groans in the backseat the whole ride, and each time she opens her mouth to make another sound of pain something flares in Frank’s chest and he doesn't want to admit that he hasn't felt anything like it since before his family, so he just chokes it down and stares ahead.

       By the time Frank pulls the car into a parking space near Karen’s apartment she’s barely coherent and Frank can’t keep his breathing in check. He wishes he would've just taken her to a hospital instead of racing her back to her apartment. Either way he has to remove the knife and stitch her up quick, he just hopes that she has an actual first aid kit that has more than some bandaids and neosporin. It takes him a moment longer to get inside because his hands won't stop shaking while he’s trying to open the door and he just feels so goddamn useless because if he can’t open a damn door how is he going to stitch her up right? He looks down at her face as she’s cradled in his arms loosely holding onto his bicep, he stares at her face while trying to keep his breathing in check and when it actually works he huffs and shoves the key into the lock, slamming the door open. He rushes to her bed and sets her down, he takes a look around the apartment and walks into the bathroom looking under the sink for her first aid kit when a weak voice meets his ears “Kitchen. Above the sink” He grumbles and pulls himself out of his awkward position in her small bathroom and moves himself across the room.

       Her kitchen is a mess, there’s takeout boxes everywhere and a huge pile of dishes in the sink, and for some reason Frank’s heart drops. He hates feeling that way, he snaps out of it and quickly finds the first aid kit, thanking the heavens that she has a pretty heavy duty one. Before he kneels by her side he takes a deep breath and reminds himself that as soon as she’s patched up he has got to go. He cannot get back into her life again, he simply can’t. He’s dead to her anyways.

       Stitching her up goes by in a blur, he’s not sure why though. Blood and gore never bothers him but for some reason his mind wouldn't let him linger on the way her blood smelt, or the way she held onto his forearm for dear life when he started stitching her up without pain meds. He hated the whole thing, he hated that he even had to stitch her up, but the thing he hated most of all was the small smile she gave him in the end. Right before he left she called out to him. “Frank, come here, please” Of course he complied, walking over to her bedside and kneeling, taking her outstretched hand in his. “Thank you, Frank. For keeping an eye on on me, even though you know i’m a grown ass woman who can take care of herself.” She squeezed his hand when he chuckled, and as he got up to leave he heard her whisper “You’re not dead, Frank Castle. Not to me” All that he could hope was that she heard his whisper back “I should be, Karen Page. To you, I really should be.” Before slipping out of her apartment and into the shadows.


	2. Supprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank gets hurt pretty bad one night so he runs over to Karen's place to bleed all over her stuff.

       Karen doesn’t see or hear from Frank for almost three months after that, but she does notice a decrease of death following her, so she takes that as a sign that Frank now sees her as she really is, one bad ass mother fucker. After that night she started saving up for a new wardrobe, considering the fact that this was New York and when criminals saw a small blond sneaking around their territory, it had to mean nothing but trouble. So far she had already bought some regular dark, less fitting, skirts and many new pairs of jeans, she also bought an abundance of old t-shirts from the thrift store. So while she was saving up to fix her walls, buy a new wardrobe, and save up for a new apartment, she was left with next to nothing to buy actual food. So of course she ate takeout most of the time, and she brought out those old pencil skirts and fancy blouses for when someone would take her out to dinner. Karen knew that only going on a date with someone just for food was rude and wrong, but in all honesty, those were the nights she ate best.

       She was coming home late one night from a fancy restaurant and an even fancier guy, who was all about getting serious, making her spend the whole night going to art galleries with him and eating small and delicate meals, she was exhausted. All she wanted was to take her damn heels off, get into a warm shower, and go the hell to bed, but as soon as she walked into her building her expectations were crushed. There was blood running down the hallway across the walls and floor and it ended at her door. Karen sighed and pulled out her small pistol, trying to make the least amount of noise possible as she snuck down the hallway down to her door. As she made it there she saw that the door handle was broken and bloody, quickly making a mental note of how much that was going to cost her. Kicking the door open slowly with the toe of her shoe she swung around the corner and aimed the gun high, her eyes darting around her tiny apartment in search for the bloody intruder.

       Instead all she saw was one Frank Castle asleep on her couch, snoring loudly, and getting quite a lot of blood on her carpet. She ran to her bathroom and turned the bath on filling it halfway with lukewarm water before returning to her couch. She paused for a moment before waking him up, because if you get the chance to see the Punisher asleep, you take it. The whole thing was entirely bizarre, The Punisher was asleep on her couch, he was still bloody and bruised but still, he was the big bad Punisher and he was sleeping almost peacefully on Karen Page’s couch. Karen too a deep breath running her hands over her face trying to calm herself down, she had to get him cleaned up and then she would have to find the wound, _or wounds_ so she could stitch him up. She knelt down near the couch but far enough away from his hands that he wouldn't knock her out if she startled him as he was waking up. Tentatively she began to stay his name, raising her voice each time until he began to stir. Very hesitantly she reached her hand out and set it on his shoulder, and began to shake him. “Frank, wake up. It’s me, Karen” Frank shifted and grunted but he didn’t open his eyes, so Karen shook him a bit harder, repeating herself louder this time. “Frank, wake up! It’s me, Karen! You have to get up so I can see your wounds.” Once again Frank only grunted at her so she took both hands and put them on his shoulders and nearly pulled him up, speaking loud enough to sound like a shout to him but not enough to disturb the neighbors, “Frank! Wake the hell up!” This time she had to dodge a fist to the face but at least his eyes were open and alert. He shot up to look around the apartment while he groaned in pain. Karen couldn’t help but to let out a laugh which had his head snapping towards her, eyes questioning he barked out, “What the hell is so funny?” Karen stifled her laugh putting her hands over her mouth. Smiling she replied, “Well one, you’re injured so how are you going to fight off attackers? And two, you were out like a rock, I could’ve shot you and you wouldn’t have even noticed until after it hit you in the head” Frank huffed and sat up straighter, swinging his legs off of the couch. “Yeah, whatever. But about the whole injury thing, you’re not wrong. That’s why i’m here, I got a few bad ones on my back that I can t reach and i’m gonna need you to get ‘em” Karen stood and nodded, pointing to the bathroom. “I ran a bath so you can clean the wounds, I’ll stitch you up when you get out.” With that, Frank got up and walked into the bathroom. Karen walked around the couch and winched at the dark stain across one of the cushions.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing more! I have fallen into this Kastle abyss! Come find me on Tumblr where I cry about Frank and Karen a lot.  
> www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/richelleisgay


End file.
